The Outsourcing Coin

The organization with which I am working in Hyderabad (in the state of Andrah Pradesh) is a microfinance organization. They are looking to scale rapidly, requiring an increase in workforce from 850 employees currently to about 2400 a year from now. I am helping them think through how to set up the organization and Human Resources function to enable this type of growth.

Across the hall from my organization is a bank. On several walls in the hallways near the stairs, the following sign is posted:

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All-India Coordinating Committee of Unions in Financial Sector (AIC CUFS)
Over 150,000 Employees and Officers in Financial Sector Observe

“ANTI-OUTSOURCING DAY” on 16-5-2006 DEMANDING
- stoppage of outsourcing
- recruitment of adequate number of employees in all cadre
- regularization of contractual labors

Released by: Andrah Pradesh Bank Employee's Federation
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The irony.

I've been thinking a lot about outsourcing, particularly the relatively recent trend of outsourcing US jobs to places like India and China. Very unpopular in the US, with good reason. It is awful for those who are losing their jobs—painful, scary.

What about the other side of the coin? One of the main funders for the organization with which I'm working (he made contributions when it was still a non-profit in its infancy) is an Indian who made his fortune partnering with DELL. In addition to the employees his company employs, there are ripple effects... local businesses that those employees pay for goods and services with money that wouldn't otherwise be in the local economy, etc. On top of that, the significant philanthropic donations of this individual to jumpstart my organization have made it possible for more than 200,000 women in rural India to start and enhance small businesses that help them provide for the needs of their children and families. Hundreds of thousands of people ascending out of crippling poverty is a good thing.

Both India and the States face a daunting challenge: providing chronically neglected populations with the opportunities that others enjoy. I find it very satisfying to look for ways to contribute to that goal in both places.